Xolo Q1000S with 5-inch HD display, 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, 13MP camera launched for Rs. 18999
Xolo has launched the Q1000S, the company’s latest flagship smartphone in the Q Core series. Wereported about the device back in July and Xolo started teasing about the device on their Facebook page earlier this week. It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display at 295 PPI based on one-glass solution (OGS) technology and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) similar to the Q1000 that was launched back in May. It is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589T processor with PowerVR SGX544 GPU .
It comes with a 13-megapixel auto focus camera at the back with LED Flash and a BSI (Back Side Illumination) 2 sensor for low-light imaging and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with a BSI 2 sensor. It comes with dual SIM support with dual standby similar to other Xolo smartphones.It has 16GB of internal memory, packs a 2500 mAh battery and is just 6.98mm thick.
Xolo Q1000S Specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display at 295 PPI
1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589T processor with PowerVR SGX544 GPU
Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 A240 with 5.7-inch HD display, Android 4.2 listed online
Micromax has been teasing the upcoming Canvas Doodle 2 A240 on their Facebook page for the past few days, now the smartphone has been listed on Flipkart. The Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 A240 would have a 5.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display, powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It would come with a 12-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It would have with Dual SIM support with dual standby similar to other Micromax smartphones. It also comes with a stylus and pack a 2600 mAh battery.
No details about the RAM yet, but it is likely to come with 1GB of RAM similar to the Canvas 4. It would come with Blow to unlock feature, unique M! Doodle app. Micromax launched the Canvas Doodle A111with a 5.3-inch FWVGA display and a quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor back in May.
Micromax Canvas 4 A210 specifications
5.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD capacitive touch screen IPS display
1.2 GHz quad-core processor
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
12MP rear camera with Dual LED Flash
5MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack
12GB internal memory, expandable memory upto 32GB with MicroSD
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS/A-GPS
2600 mAh battery
No word on pricing yet since the listing says coming soon without any price tag, but it is likely to be priced similar to the Canvas 4.
While everyone waited on an iPad mini 2 with retina, Google and Asus went ahead and did one better. Presenting the new Nexus 7, an affordable 7-inch tablet with beefy specs and more pixels per inch than you can shake a 1080p jpeg at.
Whether you call it the Nexus 7 2 or just the Nexus 7, it hurdles right over the iPad mini in both parts and price. For just a little more money, it offers a lot more functionality than a Kindle Fire HD. It so surpasses the original Nexus 7 that Google has swept last year's tablet under the rug; it seems to be retired from the Play Store altogether.
Internally, the new Nexus 7 packs a 1.5Ghz quad core processor, 2GB of RAM and comes with either 16GB or 32GB of storage. Those models go for $229/£200 and $269/£240, and there's also an LTE version selling for $300, but its fate in European markets seems unclear, and we've yet to get word on Australian pricing.
While microSD slots now feel like a relic of a bygone era, since neither Nexus nor Apple devices offer them, we have to bemoan storage space a bit here. The Android 4.3: Jelly Bean OS found on the Nexus 7 takes up a whopping 6GB. Our 32GB tablet came out of the box with 26GB available. Those planning to go for the 16GB model need to brace for having only 10GB to play with.
Still, no matter how you slice it, the Nexus 7 is a lot of great tablet hardware for the money, all packed in unassuming, plastic package. That pockmarked white rubber backing from the first Nexus 7 has been ditched, replaced with an all plastic black backing. It doesn't feel as slick or look as premium as the metal backing of an iPad, but it'll surely hold up against scratches better than Apple's tablet.
Price separates the new Nexus 7 and the iPad mini, as do their different aspect ratios. Apple's 7-inch tablet is 4:3, while the Nexus 7 is the more film friendly 16:9. So while the mini is wider, that extra screen space usually fills with black bars when watching movies or reading comics; not so with the new Nexus.
Not as wide as an iPad mini, the Nexus 7 is easier to hold in one hand. That, combined with its pixel dense 323 ppi display make it great for reading. Text is newspaper crisp, and so far we've seen it do an excellent job of regulating screen brightness, though we're looking forward to testing it in direct sunlight.
The Nexus 7's skinny design and cinematic aspect ratio does leave it with a ton of bezel. On a small 7-inch display, that feels like wasted space, but at 16:9, the device would need to widen in order to accommodate a taller screen, so it's a bit of an impasse.
Although it leaked weeks ago, this new Nexus 7 is the debut device for Android 4.3, the latest iteration of Jelly Bean. It's mostly minor tweaks, not the sort of major overhaul that comes with a new dessert name, like Key Lime Pie.
Among Android 4.3's few notable new features you have separate user accounts. At the tablet's lock screen, you're able to choose from different profiles all with their own login pins. These accounts can be setup with restricted access, letting an admin user pick and choose which apps other accounts have access to. It's a nice feature is you plan to share the tablet with a child.
In basic performance, the Nexus 7 is extremely snappy. Moving across home screens is like butter, and switching between apps is nearly instantaneous. The only hiccup we've seen is stuttering while scrolling in Chrome, something Android has never been able to iterate away.
Early verdict
The new Nexus 7 is poised to change the tablet game. It has a display and a price tag that puts the iPad mini to shame, and makes us wonder what's in store for the redesigned Nexus 10.
This isn't an open and shut case though. Conventional wisdom says that Apple still has the better tablet ecosystem, a claim we plan thoroughly investigate in our full review. We're looking forward to seeing what in the Play Store has been optimized for 7-inch 1080p consumption.
And if we had to register a few complaints about the Nexus 7's build, we have bring up all that bezel. We also think its pretty atrocious for Google to advertise a 16GB tablet that really only has 10GB available.
Affordable price tags have bought the Nexus 7 some leeway, but it's no longer the dirt cheap option. Between Apple's premium iPads and Amazon's rock bottom Kindle Fire HD, is their room in the middle for a new Nexus 7?
HTC Desire 500 Announced: An Entry Level Phone With Sense 5 UI
HTC Desire 500 Announced: An Entry Level Phone With Sense 5 UI
Even though HTC has just recently announced the younger brother to its flagship phone for 2013, the HTC One Mini, they have just announced a lower end device that should bring cool styling, Sense 5 UI, and the latest and tastiest version of Jelly Bean which is 4.2.2 to the entry level smartphone market.
Packing a 4.3 inch 480×800, the resolution is quite disappointing by today’s standards even for a low end device. Something closer to that magical 720p HD would have been much nicer to see on this phone. Powered by a Snapdragon 200 processor, this device should be able to suffice most of your everyday tasks but by no means is a powerhouse. This chipset is then paired to 1GB if RAM which is becoming the standard for most devices of today. Although the device only comes with 4GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot should help you alleviate that issue. There’s also an 8MP shooter on the back which is paired to an LED flash as well as HTC’s ImageChip processor which should give some pretty good photo and video results.
HTC Desire 500 Announced: An Entry Level Phone With Sense 5 UI
Also coming along with the hardware is what seems to be Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5 UI running over top of it. It has most of the favorable trademarks of the HTC One including BlinkFeed and Video Highlights, but the hardware dependent ones such as the TV Remote are absent due to obvious limitations of the Desire 500.
HTC Desire 500 Announced: An Entry Level Phone With Sense 5 UI
In terms of design, the device is quite similar to the One series of last year taking most of its design cues in the front from the One S and the rear is very reminiscent of the One SV. This also means that it ditches the aluminum enclosures of this year’s One series in favor of a more low end polycarbonate shell. All in all however, we are still fans of the design and its definitely one of the better looking devices in the low end market.
The Desire 500 will first sell in Taiwan for a heft $400 unsubsidized and then will slowly make its way into other markets. Hopefully by that time the price will be lower as well.
When you are in the No 1 position, expectations are bound to increase and everything you do would be considered as the benchmark. So is the case with Samsung; its 'No 1 smartphone maker of the world' tag also fuelled expectations. That was precisely the scene when Samsung announced two humongous handsets - the Mega 5.8 and the Mega 6.3 - in India in April this year
If you are not aware of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 then here is a small description: It comes with a huge 5.8 inch screen, 1.4 GHz dual core processor, 1.5 GB RAM, 2600 mAh battery, 64 GB expandable storage slot, 8 GB internal memory etc. Currently, it is available for around Rs 23,500.
But before you get carried away with the "bigger the better” notion, here is an in-depth review of the performance and everything else that you need to know about the Mega 5.8.
Design
It is laughable to see many reviewers crying about its big size. When a phone comes with a 5.8 inch screen, it is bound to have a big profile. But surprisingly, it is quite light weight with just 182 grams weight despite having a big 2600 mAh battery. This is partially because its 9 mm thickness and the quality of material used.
There has been lot of hullabaloo about the design of Samsung's phones and for the critics, Mega 5.8 is nothing different. However, I personally liked the way the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 has been made. It looks aristocrat with its shiny metal strip that surrounds its edges while the iconic home button sits just below the display. The body, if you look closely, has a textured design that personally loved very much.
The back panel is plastic and is shiny but not that slippery. Though it looks strong but I feel better material could have been used.
Display
A 5.8 inch with qHD (540x 960 pixels) resolution does not sound good at all in the paper but believe me, it does not seems as bad as it sounds in real life. I have even kept it alongside that of HD display bearing Micromax Canvas 4 but Mega 5.8's display looked much better. Since it's a huge display, you would also like to watch movies and play games on it, as did I.
However, the touch response of the screen of Mega 5.8 was not at all smooth. It's erratic to be precise, which created a lot of heartburn while playing games. The problem accentuated to unbearable situations thanks to its mediocre processor about which I have discussed below.
OS and User Interface
Ihave always been an admirer of the TouchWiz interface of Samsung. The Galaxy Mega 5.8 does not disappoint in this section either. The TouchWiz interface heavily modifies the stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system's UI. First of all there are seven home screen pages; you can delete of keep any of them. There is a home button just below the display alongside which lies return and menu touch keys.
The notification bar harbours most of the control options that you may need to control from time to time that includes the WiFi, GPS, Sound, Screen Rotation, Bluetooth, Mobile Data, Blocking Mode, Power Saving, Multi Window, WiFi Hot spot, Driving mode, Smart Stay, Synch and Flight Mode. A notable point here is that you can change the order of these notification panel options. For instance, if you often use the driving mode than GPS you can bring the former to the first position while sending the GPS icon to the last in the position
Below these above mention options, in the notification bar, there is a brightness controller. SIM 1 and SIM 2 icons are also there, so with a touch you can change the default SIM card option. Below all that, you will see the notifications. Top of all that lies the settings icon.
In the settings page, the controls are divided into Connections, My Device, Accounts, and More sections for easier discoverability and usage. Similarly, the main menu page, everything is divided into Apps, Widgets and Downloaded sections.
It has other nifty features like Story Album, Multi Window, Smart Stay etc that you would see in other high end Samsung's devices.
Processor, RAM & Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 does come with the latest Android 4.2.2 operating system. It has also a decent looking dual core processor with 1.4 GHz clock speed and 1.5 GB RAM. The dual core processor looks ordinary in an era of quad core processors but remember that there is a quad core version of Mega 5.8 as well but Samsung has not so far announced its availability in the market.
Coming back to the Mega 5.8's performance, the phone behaved much worse than I expected. Leave alone heavy games, even it was in pains to open day to day apps. It kept freezing most of the times during our review. No wonder it got a meager 10270 score on Antutu which is much less that of devices which cost half of its price.
Storage
It has 8 GB of internal storage out of which 5.39 GB is available for users. There is an external card slot though which could accommodate up to 64 GB of micro SD card. So we have no qualms regarding memory but would like if it have some more internal storage as even cheaper devices these days come with 16 GB of internal storage.
Camera
This ought to be the highlight of the phone than any of its other features. Figuratively, it comes with ordinary 8 megapixel rear camera and a 1.9 megapixel front camera - a combination that you would even find in phones priced below Rs 10,000. It captures colours as they are while its LED flash comes really handy in indoors where you won't often get sufficient light.
Below are some pictures that would give you some idea about the camera capability of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8.
The camera application is intuitively designed that makes it easy to operate the phone. There are several modes like Auto, beauty face, sound and shot, panorama, sports, best face etc for different situations. Even the front camera is able to capture images in auto, beauty face, and sound & shot modes
Battery
The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 comes with a huge 2600 mAh battery that looks very good. But with medium usage involving an hour of calling, half an hour gaming, and for an equal duration of web browsing, the phone hardly manages to last for a day.
Conclusion
Even though its products have slightly less powerful hardware, Samsung's devices have always managed to beat the rivals with their overall performance. However, the Mega 5.8 seems an outdated product launched with a bigger screen. For more than Rs 20,000, I could not recall a device recently launched that is as slow as the Mega 5.8. Samsung should have made available the quad core version of the Mega 5.8 at the same price point and not this dual core version.
Of course, it has a big 5.8 inch screen which is smooth and looks better than even HD displays of some handsets like Canvas 4. Also it has a nice UI and the brand name of Samsung. But the positives end here. It has a dual core processor at a time when even Xolo managed to bring Tegra 3 based handset for just Rs 15,999. The combination of dual core processor and 1.5 GB RAM should not have given such output but does that mean Samsung has not optimized it well?
Review: Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 Android smartphone Specifications
Micromax launched the first Bling phone back in 2010 and unveiled the Bling 2 A55 in 2011. Now the third phone in the Bling series, Bling 3 A86 has surfaced on online retail site Flipkart. According to the listing the phone would come with a 4-inch touch screen display, powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It is encrusted with Swarovski Zirconia crystals making it a premium smartphone.
Micromax Bling 3 A86 specifications
4-inch capacitive touch screen display
1 GHz dual-core processor
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with dual standby
5MP auto focus camera with LED flash
VGA front-facing camera
11.4 mm thick
3.5 mm audio jack
Expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
3G , WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, aGPS
1600 mAh battery with up to 4 hours talk time and up to 200 hours standby
Still no details about the display resolution, RAM or memory. The Micromax Bling 3 A86 comes in White color. It is listed on Flipkart as coming soon without any price tag, but it available on eBay.in for Rs. 9,999. We are not sure if this is the final price. Looks like we have to wait for the official launch.
Nokia Lumia 625 pictures, specifications leak Looks like it's getting difficult for Nokia to keep a secret when it comes to unveiling a new phone.
Hours after Nokia posted that it will announce something 'Big' on Tuesday, specifications and pictures of its new Lumia 625 Windows Phone 8 powered large screen phone leaked on a Finland-based website.
According to a specifications sheet posted by Puhelinvertailu.com, the Nokia Lumia 625 will sport a 4.7-inch, the biggest screen ever for a Nokia device. The phone will be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor but sadly, it will come with just 512MB of RAM. Even the phone's IPS LCD screen features a paltry 480x800 pixels resolution, which is a bit disappointing for a big screen phone.
The phone will sport a 5-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front-facing shooter. It will offer 8GB of internal storage, expandable by another 64GB through a microSD card.
These specifications and the phone's 600 series branding points to a lower mid-range positioning. However, the phone will also have a LTE (4G) variant. The phone will be powered by a 2000mAh battery and will also offer FM radio functionality. It will not feature NFC connectivity, though.
Variety in colour has been an essential element in the design of the Lumia series and even the Lumia 625 will sport a semi-transparent design and will come with changeable shells in five colours namely, Orange, Bright green, Yellow, White and Black. The Orange would likely be similar to the one we saw in Nokia Asha 501, as evident from Nokia's teaser blog post on Monday.
Similar to other Nokia Lumia phones, Nokia will preload its own apps for navigation, imaging and music including the recently announced Smart Camera app.
The notorious @evleaks has also posted three press shots of the phone. It essentially looks like a bigger version of the Nokia Lumia 620, though the screen protrudes out a bit.
We'll bring you all the updates from the launch announcement that's scheduled to commence at 9:00 am London time/ 1:30 pm India time on Tuesday.
